Pubdate: Tue, 29 Dec 2015
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2015 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Lawrence J. Leiser
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n719/a04.html

WHO'S TO BLAME FOR A LONG SENTENCE?

The Dec. 24 front-page article "Obama's clemency list brings joy- and 
heartbreak" painted a picture of Weldon Angelos as a Greek 
immigrant's son who "was arrested for selling marijuana in three 
separate transactions . . . while possessing a firearm," resulting in 
a statutory sentence of 55 years in prison. Mr. Angelos was indicted 
by a grand jury that charged him with 20 criminal counts for 
distributing marijuana, possessing a firearm during a drug 
trafficking crime, possessing a stolen firearm, possessing a firearm 
with an obliterated serial number, possessing a firearm while being 
an unlawful user of controlled substances and money laundering.

According to trial documents, found in Mr. Angelos's apartment were 
three pounds of marijuana, three firearms and a large amount of cash. 
A house Mr. Angelos leased had, among other things, more marijuana. 
Mr. Angelos, as a gun-toting, for-profit drug trafficker, was offered 
a 15-year plea bargain, which he rejected.

An appeals court affirmed the conviction, and all of his subsequent 
appeals were denied.

Mr. Angelos, by rejecting a reasonable and fair plea offer, has no 
one to blame for his conduct and his procedural choices, which 
resulted in his jury conviction and sentence.

Lawrence J. Leiser, Woodbridge The writer is vice president of the 
National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom